Black Lives Matter Plaza is now a permanent fixture of DC’s streetscape. The mural, painted onto the stretch of 16th Street, Northwest between K and H streets in June 2020, was the site of racial justice protests, which inspired the 48-foot monument.
The construction project kicked off in July with a $4.8 million price tag. Pedestrians can now stroll through a walkway that runs down the center of the plaza, sandwiched between traffic lanes on each side of the mural.
The mural’s bold yellow words were beginning to fade when the plaza was paved over in May. To make them permanent, the city used thermoplastic road-marking paint. Another $3 million is slated to go towards benches, lighting, and signage around the site.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
